Disappearing polar bears, bug-infested tapestries

Ah, climate change. We’re all familiar by now with the culprits behind global warming (ok, maybe not certain candidates running for office) and the phenomena’s handiwork: surging seas, dwindling populations of certain fish and fowl, more volatile weather, and the like.

Here are a couple you may not have thought of: corroding 18th century mansions and priceless books teeming with beetles.

The National Trust, a huge charitable organization that owns and operates 300 natural and historical sites all over the United Kingdom, including Stonehenge, parts of Hadrian’s wall, and dozens of mills, farms and castles, says climate change is having a measurable impact on its properties and structures.

On a recent swing through California to examine how different organizations run the Presidio, Yosemite and Point Reyes National Seashore, The National Trust’s Tony Burton said the climate change chain reaction is reaching down to the tiniest levels. Like, really tiny.

For instance, more bugs are able to withstand Britain’s warmer winters, leaving more, hardier species like the deathwatch beetle to chew through precious, historical books. Same story for tapestries and other items made from fragile materials. In addition, more heavy-duty rains are suddenly damaging roofs and gutters that have previously weathered 300 years of winds and storms.

In all likelihood, the same is happening here — just look at the wildfires that destroyed parts of significant lands and sites in Big Sur.

Some might not compare it to the extinction of the polar bear, or the loss of a huge chunk of Arctic glacier, but it does show some the tangible, unforeseen costs associated with altered weather patterns. And really, if industrial-age human activity were to somehow obliterate Stonehenge — a structure that dates back thousands of years — that would be something.